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Our campus as a canvas

The pedes­trian bridge that tra­verses the MBTA tracks and con­nects the Columbus Avenue parking struc­ture to Northeastern’s main campus has under­gone a colorful trans­for­ma­tion, thanks to a new ini­tia­tive that will bring more public art to campus.

Daniel Anguilu, a North­eastern artist-​​in-​​residence last week, was com­mis­sioned to paint a mural on the bridge’s retaining wall that faces the Curry Stu­dent Center. He started painting last week and fin­ished ear­lier this week. After one day of work, the gray-​​colored wall was already trans­formed with swaths of vivid color.

The new public art ini­tia­tive will pro­vide fac­ulty, stu­dents, and artists from around the world “can­vases” throughout campus—in highly vis­ible and some­times unex­pected places—to dis­play their works for the entire campus com­mu­nity to expe­ri­ence. The orga­nizing com­mittee reviewed works of about 50 artists before selecting Anguilu.

“North­eastern is an inno­v­a­tive, diverse, urban com­mu­nity,” said Pres­i­dent Joseph E. Aoun. “We love to use our campus as a canvas.”

Anguilu, a Houston res­i­dent, has painted murals in the U.S., Mexico, Peru, and Italy. Bree Edwards, director of Northeastern’s Center for the Arts, noted that Anguilu’s engaging per­son­ality, joy for his work, and use of vibrant colors were among the rea­sons he was selected. Last week, he inter­acted with onlookers and passersby, incor­po­rating the energy from those inter­ac­tions into the mural.

Anguilu said he likes the space’s large size because it allows him to use his entire body while working. “I really like the con­nec­tions between the actual bridge and the people,” Anguilu added. “I want to figure out a way to make this piece some­thing that will make people stop for a minute and con­tem­plate what is going on with them.”

Artist Daniel Anguilu began working on his mural on campus last week. Photo by Mariah Tauger.